W. Stuart Booth, C.S.B., of
Denver, Colorado, lectured on "Christian Science: The Revelation of Man's
God-Given Dominion," Tuesday night under the auspices of First Church of
Christ, Scientist, Indianapolis, at the church edifice, Meridian at Twentieth
street.† Mr. Booth is a member of The
Board of Lectureship of The
Mother Church, The First Church of Christ, Scientist, in Boston, Massachusetts.† Edwin Larrance introduced the speaker.† The lecture follows in full:

Although the Bible states in its
very first chapter that God made man in Hisown image and likeness and gave man dominion over all things, it appears
that both the true nature of man and his God-given dominion are sadly lacking
from human experience.† We find that
through human history may be traced the hope, and often the blind endeavor, to
obtain the freedom and dominion, which is man's God-bestowed heritage.† Practically all of this struggle for freedom
and dominion, individually considered, has centered around the human body,
since to appearances, therein lies embodied all of human life, strength, and
good.† This led the Egyptians to labor
unceasingly in the building of mausoleums and in perfecting the embalming
processes, because,to
their sense, immortality depended upon the preservation of their material
bodies.† Their views and practices may
seem extreme and foolish to us,but
the amount of attention paid to the human body in what we

call this enlightened age, indicates that men have not
emerged from the Egyptian darkness to as great an extent, perhaps as they
imagine.

Human
Progress

To be sure, human endeavor has
resulted in marvelous progress along mechanical lines, as witnessed by the
telephone, radio, airplane, and other eliminators of time and space. But, while
many limitations have been removed through human education, the condition of
humanity shows plainly that the root of all bondage and discord has not been
eradicated.† The axe was laid unto this root
two thousand years ago by Christ Jesus, whose work in overcoming sin, sickness
and death, in annulling every so-called material law, was so complete that his
life is taken as a perfect pattern of Christianity, and he is accepted by all
Christians as the Way-shower.†

Now Christian Science is restoring
primitive Christianity. †It is based upon
the works as well as the words of Christ Jesus. †It shows, indeed, that the works are of even greater
importance than the mere words, since the works illustrate the Science of his
doctrine. †It is obvious, therefore, that
in order truly to learn of Christian Science it is necessary that we gain some
proper understanding of Jesus' aim and method, that we attain some approach to
his viewpoint, which is evidently differed radically from that of the worldly-minded.

Discovery
of Christian Science

The wonderful light of spiritual understanding
dawned in the consciousness of Mary Baker Eddy in 1866 as she was led of God to
see how and why Christ Jesus healed the sick, overcame sin and death.† Immediately she came into a fuller sense of
health, strength, freedom, and dominion over evil than she had ever before
experienced. †The unselfishness and
spiritual devotion which had enabled Mrs. Eddy to receive this great blessing
also prompted her to share it with others. †Thus, due to Mrs. Eddy's consecrated work, the
world now has the truth about God and His perfect creation, the clear and
demonstrable explanation of God's law of life, liberty, and spiritual dominion.
†This is found in "Science and
Health with Key to the Scriptures," the Christian Science textbook, which
is read and studied in conjunction with the Bible, as its title implies. †For
the sole purpose of blessing mankind by presenting and preserving intact the
pure spiritual truths of Christian Science, Mrs. Eddy established The Mother
Church, The First Church of Christ, Scientist, in Boston, Massachusetts, and in
conjunction therewith she also established the Christian Science Publishing
Society, which issues weekly, monthly, and quarterly publications as well as
the great international daily newspaper, The Christian Science Monitor. †Great numbers of intelligent, God-fearing men
and women entertain a profound sense of loving gratitude to Mary Baker Eddy, because
through her spiritual vision and consecrated labors, they have discerned and
demonstrated somewhat of the Science of man's God-given dominion.

As we study "Science and
Health with Key to the Scriptures," together with the Bible, we see that
Mrs. Eddy derived her spiritual light and understanding from the Scriptures, as
she has repeatedly stated. †She
discerned, declared, and demonstrated the spiritual truths about God and His unchanging
laws of harmony and health; and thus she made available to all mankind the
protecting and healing law of God, which enabled Christ Jesus to demonstrate
man's God-given dominion over all evil. †Mrs.
Eddy made the world her continuous debtor when she thus enabled each of us to
prove that the Bible promise of God-given dominion is not a mere pleasing
phrase, nor a mockery of mankind's apparent helplessness, but rather is our
dominion over all evil as unalterably true today as when it was first
proclaimed and demonstrated by our Exemplar, Christ Jesus,†††

God's
Goodness

Now let us examine this subject of
dominion somewhat to ascertain its nature and application. †First, Christian Science teaches us to base our
consideration [of all things from the] standpoint of God as the Father and Mother
of all, the Creator and Controller of all that is real and true. †According to both Scripture and reason the
infinite Creator of all reality is infinite intelligence, omnipotent divine
Mind. †And since God is the impartial Giver
of all good, it follows that divine Mind and divine Love are synonymous terms
for the spiritual Principle of the universe, called God. †This leads us to see that the reason for the Scriptural
statement that Godis of
purer eyes than to behold evil, and canst not look on iniquity (Hab. 1:13), is
that the divine Principle of harmony, or divine Mind, cannot know discord any
more than light can comprehend darkness.

Mrs. Eddy recognized that Christ Jesus
classified sin, sickness, sorrow, lack, and death as unrealities, or merely
expressions of false human education and belief. †He said that he came to "bear witness
unto the truth", and in so doing he overcame that which is not true in Godís
sight, - sin, sickness, and death. †Apropos
to this point Mrs. Eddy has written in Science and Health, "If sickness is
real, it belongs to immortality; if true it is a part of Truth.† Would you attempt with drugs, or without, to
destroy a quality or condition of Truth? †But if sickness and sin are illusions, the
awakening from this mortal dream or illusion, will bring us into health, holiness,
and immortality. †This awakening is the
forever coming of Christ, the advanced appearing of Truth, which casts out
error and heals the sick. †This is the
salvation which comes through God, the divine Principle, Love, as demonstrated
by Jesus." (p. 230:1)

Christ
Jesus' Healings

An account of a healing wrought by
our Master, recorded by Matthew, clearly indicates why he spoke as one having
authority, and not as the scribes.† (Read
Matt. 8:6-9) †The centurion was an
officer of the Roman government; he obeyed, as well as enforced the decrees of
Caesar, and he spoke with the authority of his government. †Thus when a soldier or servant obeyed the
centurion, he was in fact obeying the authority of the Roman government,
represented by the centurion. †Probably
this centurion had observed Christ Jesus, had listened to his discourses, and had
been impressedby his
demonstrations of God's law. †This led
him to the conclusion that Christ Jesus was living and thinking in accordance
with God's law of life and harmony, and that therefore the Master's word or command
was supported and enforced by the authority and power of divine law.† Hence the centurion's simple, trustful
response to Christ Jesus, "speak the word only, and my servant shall be
healed," which elicited from our dear Master the glad exclamation, "I
have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel;" to which he added to
the centurion, "Go thy way; and as thou hast believed, so be it done unto thee,"
"And his servant was healed in the selfsame hour."

This centurion discerned a great
truth, namely, that it was God's law and Jesus' obedience thereto, which
clothed him with divine authority. †Mrs.
Eddy makes this clear in Science and Health where she writes: "The Christ
was the Spirit which Jesus implied in his own statements: "I am the way,
the truth, and the life;" "I and my Father are one." This
Christ, or divinity of the man Jesus, was his divine nature, the godliness
which animated him. †Divine Truth, Life,
and Love gave Jesus authority over sin, sickness, and death. †His mission was to reveal the Science of
celestial being, to prove what God is and what He does for man." (26:10)

Paul's
Discernment of Christ

Although Paul was not a personal
follower of Christ Jesus he so clearly and definitely discerned the Christ, the
divine manifestation of God, which Jesus preached and proved, that he wrote to
the Christians in Rome: "The law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus
hath made me free from the law of sin and death." (Rom. 8:2) †Thus Paul declared what Christ Jesus had
proved, namely, that the everpresence of God's law means present salvation from
sin, sickness, discord, and death, to those who understand and obey the divine
law of Life and Love.

Now let us return to a further consideration
of the healing of the centurion's servant to learn how we may make application
of its lessons to our present problems. †First, let us see that our servant which needs
healing, is, mayhap, our human body. †For,
according to Christ Jesus and Christian Science, and also according to many
modern physicists, the material body is but the expression or servant of
thought. †Unfortunately this fact is not
yet generally recognized and acknowledged, so we see people serving their
bodies, and heldin chains
of fear to false beliefs about their bodies.

Due to the bias of false material
theories and education some [people may be incredulous and] even rebellious at
this Christian Science teaching that, since God, Spirit is the only Mind and
Cause, it follows that matter, the opposite of Spirit, is not causative nor
intelligent. †However, with this, as with
all its teachings, Christian Science has Scriptural authority; for Christ Jesus
said, "It is the Spirit that quickeneth, the flesh profiteth
nothing." (John 6:63)† If the material
body were the self-acting and self-governing arbiter of man's life, as is
generally believed, Christ Jesus would not have admonished us to take no
thought for the body, as is recorded by Matthew (6:25); to which the Master
added the injunction that we should seek first the kingdomof God,
or the government of God, good, in our thinking.

Medical
Experiments††††††

Sometime since a physician of the
so-called regular or allopathic school of medicine told me that he had been
forced to the recognition that his medicines had no intrinsic power, but rather
were the curative results in his medical practice due to human faith in him or
in his medicines. †A number of years of
successful medical practice, during which he had carried on experiments, had
resulted finally in the complete shattering of his ideal of medical
practice.† The loss of his ideal, and his
grief thereat, preyed upon his thought to such an extent that he became ill. †Then he turned to Christian Science where he
found the Christian and scientific healing means and method of Christ Jesus; and,
what was of more importance to him, he coincidently became truly acquainted
with God.

Mrs. Eddy makes many clear statements
in Science and Health as to the inability of matter and the infinite ability of
God. †One found on page 187will serve our present
purpose. †We read: "The valves of
the heart, opening and closing for the passage of the blood, obey the mandate
of mortal mind as directly as does the hand, admittedly moved by the will. - There
is no involuntary action. The divine Mind includes all action and volition, and
man in Science, is governed by this Mind." †Even though you may have believed that your
heart acts by itself you can readily see to the contrary; for should one become
excited, the action of his heart would thereby be accelerated; or in obedience
to some other emotion the heart action would be retarded. †Now we are not concerned with controlling the
heart action or the action of any other part of the human body. †But we are vitally concerned with having our
thinking controlled by, and thus being in harmony with God, divine Principle. †Then,
as Christ Jesus promised, these other things, such as health, peace, and supply
shall be added unto us. †A woman, who had
been allotted but a short time to live by physicians because of extreme heart
trouble, turned to God and His law, Christian Science, for help. †After several months of study and treatment
she appeared no better. †Then it was
uncovered to her that she had been endeavoring to change or correct her heart
action, instead of working to have the Mind which was in Christ Jesus. †When she saw that it was not her body which
needed correcting, but instead the thought which governed it, she mentally let
go of her heart, turned her thought to God, divine Mind, and was quickly and
permanently healed.

Christian
Science Healing

The many healings of all manner of
disease by means of Christian Science or God's law, prove that when the fear of
the body and of disease has been eliminated, then the body manifests health;
thus showing that it is the thought controlling the body which needs to be
healed, or corrected; and then the body or servant is likewise healed. †In other words, Christian Science shows that
sickness is an indication that God's law is not being recognized, acknowledged,
and obeyed. †Moses stated the fact thousands
of year's ago, that obedience to God's law not only brings healing, but also
protects from all ills. †And remember,
that when you are serving your material body you cannot be serving God, Spirit;
for one who mentally serves his material body is ever fearful, whereas "to
be spiritually minded is life and peace," as Paul states (Rom. 8:6).

Right here let me correct a false
impression some may have as to the Christian Science teaching about the
body.† Christian Science does not teach
us to ignore the human body, but rather to deal with it scientificallyandChristianly, - that is, as
Christ Jesus dealt with it, - by seeing the body as servant, not master, as
effect, not cause; and then correcting and controlling the thought which
governs from the standpoint of God as the only Mind.

Its
Applications to Business

Another servant which often needs
to be healed and harmonized, purified and strengthened,is business. †Many men become so enslaved by the thoughts
about their business that they serve their business instead of having their
business serve them. †This sometimes
amounts to idolatry, and engenders fear and worry, envy and greed, injustice
and dishonesty, so that men may be in a literal hell of torment, because of
servitude to their business. †Remember that
the sole purpose of your business is to serve, not only you, but others as
well. †This last point should be
emphasized, because any business which is designed to serve one's selfish
desires and interests is built
upon the sand, and it cannot withstand the storms of adversity which
selfishness inevitably brings down upon its own flimsy creations.

Suppose your servant called your
business is sick, and you turn to God's law, Christian Science for healing. †Let us see what our law books say on this subject.† We will find many promises of protection and
providence to those who obey the law of divine Love, perfect Principle.† In Joshua (1:7,8) we read the word of God: -
"This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt
meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all
that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then
thou shalt have good success." †This
is much the same as if you were to tell a student of mathematics that as he
obeys the rules of mathematics, as he conforms his thoughts thereto, he will
obtain the correct answer to every problem. †There is but one answer to every problem,
whether it be a problem in mathematics, in business, or as regards health; that
is, the right answer. †As you conform
your thinking to divine Principle, as did Christ Jesus, you will find the
correct answer to your every business problem; and your servant or business
will be healed.

God's loving control and
government is realized as we respond to it. †Then the law of Love is seen to be the law of
liberty, the law of harmony, freeing us from all discords; the law of spiritual
dominion, whereby our God-given birthright is proved.

God-Given
Dominion

Christian Science makes it
definitely clear that our God-given dominion is not over other individuals, for
that would be personal domination, instead of the dominion of divine Love and
law. †The dominion which God gives us is
over all the things or thoughts in the world of our own consciousness. †It is the dominion of right over wrong; the
dominion of good over evil; the dominion of Truth over error; of Love over fear
and hate; the dominion of true, spiritual ideas over false,material beliefs.†
Right here should be noted a great point of distinction between
Christian Science and all other forms of so-called mental methods of healing. †Christian Science is notonlymental, but it is
primarily spiritualinits
operation, influence and effect. †Furthermore,
Christian Science treatment is not the influence of one so-called human mind
over another, but rather is it the activity of divine Mind, God, operating by
means of true, loving, harmonizing, spiritual ideas, which true ideas displace
the fear and envy, the discord and distress from human consciousness. †And lo! the servant of that human consciousness,
whether it be a sick body or a sick business, is healed.

The dominion over one's own thinking,
which Christian Science enables us to realize and prove, bestows bounteous
blessings, not only in its healing and harmonizing effects, but even more in
the assurance of God's everpresence, and in unshaken confidence in divine
Love's willingness and ability to care for us here, now, and always. †At the Wednesday testimony meetings held in
Christian Science churches it is frequently noted that, after telling of
remarkable cases of healing of sickness and sin, discord and depravity, the
testifiers will state with convincing earnestness that they are even more
grateful for the light of spiritual understanding they have gained, and for a
sure, intimate acquaintanceship with our loving Father-Mother God.

Dominion
Over Sin

Quite naturally this leads us to
see how Christian Science enables us to demonstrate man's God-given dominion
over sin and over all wrong, discordant, and enslaving habits of thought,
speech and action. †For Christian Science
is the Science of right thinking which was proved, perfectly and completely by
our Exemplar, Christ Jesus, in his annulling of every argument of sin,
sickness, and death.

It mattered not to Christ Jesus
that Mary Magdalene had been bound by and had expressed seven devils or evil
spirits, as is recorded by Luke. †Her unfeigned
display of contrition for wrong doing and of affection for the good lived by
Christ Jesus warranted his compassionate word, "Thy sins are
forgiven." (Luke 7:37-48) †The transformation
of her thought and life was so complete that she became spiritually fitted to
be the first one to see Jesus after his resurrection. †The experience of the Magdalene, regarded in
the light of Christian Science, is most helpful and encouraging to every
aspirant for release and redemption, because Christian Science reveals the
everpresence of the living, loving Christ, - the divine idea of God, - whereby
the negative nature and the impotence of sin are discerned and demonstrated
now, as they were in the first century of the Christian era.

Christ
Jesus the Way-Shower

Referring to Christ Jesus' work,
Mrs. Eddy writes in Science and Health (p. 316:32) "Explaining and demonstrating
the way of divine Science, he became the way of salvation to all who accepted
his word.† From him mortals may learn how
to escape from evil. †The real man being
linked by Science to his Maker, mortals need only turn from sin and lose sight
of mortal selfhood to find Christ, the real man and his relation to God, and to
recognize the divine sonship. †Christ,
Truth, was demonstrated through Jesus to prove the power of Spirit over the
flesh, - to show that Truth is made manifest by its effects upon the human mind
and body, healing sickness and destroying sin." †That statement, "From him mortals may
learn how to escape from evil," evidently means that we are to consider
the suggestions of evil as did Christ Jesus and combat them as he did. †Then we too will be able to prove our
God-given dominion over evil. †As we
study the Bible we find that at no time did Christ Jesus refer to evil as a God
sent or God permitted power and verity. †Nor
did he ignore the arguments of evil. †Christ
Jesus based all his thinking upon the spiritual fact that God, good, is the
Father and Mother of all; the Creator and Controller of all that is real and
true; that divine Love is the only law-creating and law governing power and
Principle of the universe. †Inevitably
this led to his designation of the devil or evil as a liar and the father of lies,
not of anything true and powerful. (John 8:44)

Mary
Magdalene's Healing

Now it is plain that a lie has no
power or influence, although if one were to believe a lie to be true that
belief might seem to bind him. †Mary
Magdalene evidently had believed some such lies as that there is pleasure,
profit, and satisfaction in wrong doing. †Perhaps she had been told from childhood that
she was selfish, headstrong, and had a terrible temper. †This was much the same as if certain tags or
labels had been attached to her, which it seemed, belonged to her and were a
part of her. †One was labeled
"selfishness," another "human will," another
"envy," another "passion," and so on. †But, although the Magdalene and others
believed that these tags or signs of evil were a part of her, Christ Jesus knew
better than that. †He saw sin, not as persons,
but as wrong thought using those who believed the false claims of evil. †The Magdalene's true repentance and her desire
for good furnished such a response to Christ Jesus' knowing the truth about her
as God's child or expression, that these tags or signs of evil were separated
from her, and she was freed.

The evil spirits which the Bible
states were cast out of Mary Magdalene and others by Christ Jesus, refer to
nothing more than beliefs in evil. †The
Greek term "evil spirit" literally means "impure mental
disposition." †And Christ Jesus cast
out such evils by his definite and divinely inspired denial of them. †His thought and attitude were continuously
compassionate, because, while he denounced the sin in his own thought, he
always separated the sin from the individual who was handled by it. †Hence his compassionate, healing word,
"God sent not His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the
world through him might be saved." (John 3:17)

Heredity
Considered

Perhaps some of us have been
marked from childhood as being dishonest or deceitful or as having a bad
disposition. †It may be that we have
accepted that tag as a part of us, and have excused ourselves on the ground
that some of our forebears carried a similar label. †An old couplet reads, "The doctrine of
heredity makes pleasant contemplation; it lets us blame our faults upon some
other generation."

Now let us suppose that one who
had been know as being selfish, cynical, cross, and critical of others should
take up the study of Christian Science and apply its teachings. Very soon he
will learn that he lives in the realm of thought, not in matter; and that all
that is true in the realm of thought is that which speaks of or manifests God,
divine Truth and Love. †This leads the
seeker after Truth to see that every thought or suggestion of evil, such as
selfishness or criticism, is not a part of God's true creation, and therefore
is without divine power and authority. †As
the student thus conforms his mental attitude and activity to that of Christ
Jesus, even in a degree, he will find that the selfishness, cynicism, and
criticism or fault-finding are replaced by such qualities of divine Love as
compassion, mercy, unselfishness, and gratitude. †This may not be accomplished without a
struggle perhaps, but wrong habits of thought, speech, and action can be
corrected by Truth and Love or divine Mind, just as surely as darkness yields
to the light.

So, friends, if you have been
labeled with any tags indicating that you are something other than the child or
expression of God, divine Mind and Love, you can, through Christian Science,
rise in righteous rebellion against that belief in evil. †For Christian Science shows how you can claim
your birthright of dominion, and how you can live up to that claim by controlling
your thinking aright.

Rules for
Right Thinking

The Christian Science rule for
Christianly scientific right thinking is as simple and loving as it is exact and
unvarying. †We are to remember, as did
Christ Jesus, that we are not original, independent thinkers, because every
true thought or idea, being eternal, originates in and proceeds from the
eternal divine Mind or God. †We simply
apprehend and reflect, or actively express, the true ideas of intelligence,
alertness, stability, harmony, happiness, unselfishness, purity, patience, and
love, which speak to us, and through us to others, of our loving Father Mind
and Mother Love. †Coincidently and
consistently we find, as did Christ Jesus, that every thought or suggestion,
which claims that evil, disease, discord, and death are real and have power, - such
thoughts or suggestions are to be classified by us as untrue and powerless,
because they are not from God, even as Christ Jesus stated and proved. †Just as you have no room in your consciousness
for a thought that 5 x 5 = 19, because 5 x 5 = 25 is fixed as true with
you, so you will find, as you consistently apply and obey the Christian Science
law for right thinking, that true ideas, thoughts of harmony, peace, purity and
confidence in good, will become so fixed and dominant in your consciousness
that evil and discordant beliefs will be readily recognized as errors, and will
be resolutely renounced and rejected.

Prayer

You will find as you obey this simple,
but divinely directed rule or law of right thinking, that you are communing
with God, that you are indeed walking with God, divine Mind, for you are in
truth companioning with God's ideas. †And
that is prayer; the prayer to which Paul referred when he admonished us to
"pray without ceasing." (I Thess. 5:17)† Through Christian Science the old educated belief
in a man-like God, from which sprang the concept of prayer as advice to God and
supplication that the divine plan be changed to suit us, - this is supplanted
by the concept of God as unchanging good, infinite Love; which corrected concept
leads us to see that the purpose of prayer is to change us, so that our
thinking may conform to the Mind whichwas in Christ Jesus.

Even though you may have had no
previous knowledge of Christian Science you will find that, as a result of
studying its textbook, "Science and Health with Key to the
Scriptures", and obeying its divinely inspired rules for right thinking
and living, you will be able to realize and prove, in an encouraging degree at
least, that you are now the very child of God, whose birth-right is dominion,
not subjection. As a poet has so well written;

"What is thy birthright, man,

Child of the perfect One!

What is thy Father's plan

For His beloved son?

"Thou are Truth's honest
child,

Sinless and pure of heart,

Treading, meek, undefiled

In Christly paths apart.

"Dreams of sense disappear

As Truth dawns on the sight

The phantoms of thy fear,

Fleeing before the light,

"Take then the charmed rod;

Thou are not error's thrall!

Thou hast the gift from God Ė

Dominion over all."

[Published in The Marion County Mail of Indianapolis,
Indiana, Oct. 28, 1930. In the sections entitled "God's Goodness" and
"Paul's Discernment of Christ," a few words were missing from the
original. These have been supplied from another copy of the lecture and set off
in brackets.]